EXPERIMENTAL PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS IN ETHYL ALCOHOL-FED RATS

1. The course of experimental paracoccidioidomycosis was studied in alcohol-fed rats and compared with pair-fed and ad libitum controls. The alcohol-fed rats were fed a regular commercial solid diet plus a 32% (v/v) ethyl alcohol-25% sucrose (w/v) solution 4 weeks prior to the infection and throughout the study. The inoculum was standardized in terms of virulence, age of culture, percentage of multicellular fungal units containing 1-3 cells and viability. 2. The extent of infection was measured by quantitative counts of fungal units (FU), colony-forming units (CFU) of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis from infected pulmonary tissue and histopathological examination of the main organs involved. The specific humoral response and cell-mediated immunity of the animals were assessed by measuring the specific serum antibody levels by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) and by the footpad swelling test (FST), respectively. 3. Alcohol-fed rats and pair-fed controls did not differ significantly in mean body weight or the extent of disease after 5 and 10 weeks of infection. In contrast, the alcohol-fed group when compared with the ad libitum group presented a significantly lower mean body weight (301.6 +/- 0.6 vs 389.6 +/- 0.7 g) and a larger number of fungi recovered from the lung: 81.1 +/- 4.1 x 10(4) vs 13.4 +/- 8.0 x 10(4) FU; 24.3 +/- 8.6 x 10(4) vs 2.9 +/- 0.5 x 10(4) CFU after 5 weeks of infection. There were no significant differences in the specific antibody levels, FST indices, histopathological pattern or frequency of disseminated lesions between groups. 4. We conclude that alcohol per se neither aggravated the infection by P. brasiliensis nor affected the specific humoral response and delayed hypersensitivity. However, the high alcohol intake resulted in malnourished animals associated with a more marked degree of infection.